PEOPLE WALK AROUND THE OLD MAIN BAZAAR
hamper Israel’s war-wearied economy.
Any major attack on Iranian soil could also undermine shaky U.S. support for the war.
Two U.S. of cials said Israel has not yet told the U.S. how it intends to respond. But the of cials, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe diplomatic discussions, said Israel has signaled that whatever it does will be designed to prevent a worsening of the already tense regional security situation. That could point to a more limited action, such as a strike on Iranian proxies across the region or a cyber attack on Iran.
Tamar Hermann, a polling expert at the Israel Democracy Institute, says most Israelis are in favor of some sort of military response as long as it is coordinated with regional allies, including the
United States.
“If it is done with no consultation and no agreement with allies … support will be much smaller,” Hermann said.
MILITARY CAPACITY
Israel’s army is vastly superior to others in the region. It possesses a range of high-tech weaponry,
including F35 ghter planes that can launch long-range munitions. Experts say it has the ability to directly strike Iran or its proxies in the region.
Fabian Hinz, a weapons expert and research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the Iranian air force is “not even remotely comparable.” He said the force is composed of a collection of planes from the 1980s and 90s, with some dating back to the reign of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who ruled the country until 1979.
The extent of the Islamic republic’s air defense system is less known, he said. Many of Iran’s missile sites and nuclear installations are deep underground, making them dif cult to hit, Hindz added. Israel might also need the agreement of Gulf Arab countries to use their airspace – something that is not guaranteed.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a full-scale Israeli attack against many targets all over Iran,” said Raz Zimmt, another senior researcher at Israel’s INSS. “It will probably be limited against one or two, perhaps inside Iran.”